J.J. McCarthy, Donovan Edwards lead Michigan to 45-23 win over Ohio State

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WXYZ) — The No. 3 Michigan Wolverines dominated the second half, beating the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes 45-23 behind incredible games from J.J. McCarthy and Donovan Edwards.

The Wolverines are now 12-0 for the first time since 1997 and will head to the Big Ten Championship game next week in Indianapolis.

McCarthy finished the game 12/24 for 263 yards and three touchdowns while Edwards had 22 carries for 216 yards and two touchdowns.

Michigan outscored Ohio State 28-3 in the second half.

Ohio State got off to a hot start, driving down the field for 81 yards on their first drive, capping it off with a four-yard touchdown pass from C.J. Stroud to Emeka Egbuka to start with a 7-0 lead.

Michigan got the ball and went 10 plays over the course of 3:55 but ended with a 49-yard field goal from Jake Moody to cut the lead to 7-3. Ohio State answered on its drive with a field goal, but then both teams' defenses stood strong.

Michigan had two straight 3-and-outs while Michigan's defense held Ohio State from scoring, forcing them to have a turnover on downs and then a punt on back-to-back drives.

Then, things really got turned up midway through the second half. On the ensuing drive, Ohio State brought the house on third down but J.J. McCarthy was able to get the pass off to Cornelius Johnson, who slipped a couple of tackles and went 69 yards into the endzone for a touchdown, tying the game.

The Wolverines defense held Ohio State to another field goal, and then it was McCarthy and Johnson connecting again for a 75-yard touchdown pass to give the Wolverines their first lead of the game.

Ohio State answered quickly on a 4-play, 79-yard drive that ended with a 42-yard touchdown pass from Stroud to Marvin Harrison Jr. as the Buckeyes went up 20-17. Both teams traded punts untl the end of the half.

At the half, Michigan only had 10 rushing yards and four first downs, compared to Ohio State's 124 rushing yards and 16 first downs.

Michigan got the ball at halftime and proceeded to go 75 yards on seven plays, ending with a 45-yard touchdown pass from McCarthy to Colston Loveland, giving the Wolverines a 24-20 lead.

The Wolverines stopped Ohio State from getting a touchdown in the third quarter and took the 24-20 lead into the fourth, thanks to a long drive to end the quarter that included some trickery to keep the drive alive.

In the end, the Wolverines went 80 yards on 14 plays, running nearly eight minutes off the clock. It ended with McCarthy running for 3 yards and a touchdown, giving Michigan a 31-20 lead over Ohio State with just over 13 minutes left in the game.

Michigan's defense stopped Ohio State again but the offense wasn't able to move far down the field. Jake Moody attempted a 57-yard field goal but missed it, giving Ohio State the ball back near the middle of the field.

Ohio State quickly drove down the field but had to settle for a field goal after an incredible pass break-up by Mike Sainristil, who knocked the ball out of the Ohio State tight end's hands in the endzone for what would've been a touchdown.

Michigan responded quickly on one play as Donovan Edwards took off down the right sideline, broke a few tackles and ran 75 yards for a touchdown, giving the Wolverines a 38-23 lead.

Ohio State drove down the field and in the red zone, Stroud tried to flip the ball away as he was being taken down, but it was intercepted by Taylor Upshaw with just over four minutes left, the first turnover by either team in the game.

After the interception, Edwards broke out an 85-yard touchdown run to put the Wolverines up 45-23.

Michigan will finish the regular season 12-0 and will now head to the Big Ten Championship.